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Kharghar
Kharghar is a node of the city of Navi Mumbai in Maharashtra, India. It is developed and maintained by CIDCO. Kharghar is located on the Sion Panvel Highway at a less than one hour drive from the heart of Mumbai city. The area started developing in 1995 and now has a number of ready and under-construction projects both in the commercial and residential segments. Kharghar is said to be the third most developed node of Navi Mumbai after Vashi and Nerul. Introduction Navi Mumbai is envisaged as a metro sized counter magnet to reduce the pressure on the Mumbai metropolis. It is planned as a polycentric new town with a series of nodal concentrations along mass-transport corridors. When fully built, it is expected to have 14 such townships with a combined population holding capacity of four millions and one million jobs. Kharghar is one of these 14 nodes and is being developed by CIDCO for an estimated population of about 500,000. Location The site of Kharghar adjoins the CBD Belapur of Navi Mumbai and is bound by two major highways and the picturesque Kharghar Hills. Taloja industrial estate and the Taloja creek are located on its east. Kharghar is primarily a residential township, but houses a part of Navi Mumbai's Central Business District. Characteristics Kharghar measures about 1700 ha. of area, 7 km long and 5 km wide. There are 12 village settlements located in Kharghar node having a combined population of 20,000. Kharghar is divided into 45 sectors. The general levels vary from 1.5 to 15.0 meters within the site. A third of the site is almost flat, but the areas close to the creek are low-lying. The Kharghar hills bring a huge amount of rainwater, which is to be directed into the creek through the node as well as the Central Park area. Encircled by lush green mountains from all sides, Kharghar in Navi Mumbai is no less than a hill station in the rains. While the area was considered difficult to access a few years ago, its recent increase in well planned infrastructure is making it a favourite among Mumbaikars. Kharghar is a nature lovers' delight, having loads of open space and greenery everywhere. A gargantuan fountain adorns the area, a stroll in the evening refreshes you, and the waterfall at Pandavkada is heaven for picnic lovers and is visited by people from all over Mumbai in the rainy season. Infrastructure Kharghar has one of the most prestigious educational institution of India viz. National Institute of Fashion Technology (NIFT), it was shifted to Kharghar from Dadar in 2002-03. It offers undergraduate courses in fashion design, fashion communication and apparel manufacturing and information technology as well as postgraduate courses in fashion management and fashion design space. NIFT is otherwise headquartered at New Delhi. It is one of the most planned nodes of Navi Mumbai and lies close to CBD Belapur, Vashi. This area is proposed to be developed as an education centre with a number of primary and higher education institutes opening their campuses in the vicinity. Kharghar has a number of ready and under-construction projects both in the commercial and residential segments. Hiranandani Complex (Crystal Plaza), Kendriya Vihar are some of the oldest residential complexes of Kharghar. While the Indian Armed Forces have two residential enclaves – Jalvayu Vihar and Raghunath Vihar. Spaghetti complex is one of the biggest complex in Kharghar. It also houses the important Tata Memorial Hospital (Cancer Research Institute). There are a number of premium residential projects sprung up in Kharghar. Projects like Hexblox and Kesar Exotica, Mahavir Heritage, Ashirwad Heights (Sector 18), Regency Gardens, Kesar Harmony, HydePark and upcoming Cypress Aqua, Galaxy Orion are some of the best in Navi Mumbai and are as costly as suburban Mumbai projects. Due to Hexblox like residential projects and upcoming metro project Kharghar is one of the posh area of Navi Mumbai which can be considered as Colaba of Mumbai. There is unconfirmed news that a reputed business group is planning to build several Hollywood style luxury villas on Kharghar hills for the rich & famous. Hikers enjoy the hills around Kharghar during the monsoon season when waterfalls and rivulets burst forth. CIDCO also built an 18-hole golf course opposite Central Park in Kharghar along with shopping malls which should make the city one of the best locations in Navi Mumbai. The much awaited Central Park in Sector 23 is being planned on the concept of London's Central Park and will span around 80 hectares and cover three sectors. The park is intended to provide an excellent place for active and passive recreation. It also attempts to put Navi Mumbai on international map. It was expected to be completed around mid 2010. The Central Park when completed will have jogger’s tracks, food courts, fountains, botanical gardens, amphi theatre, theme parks & conservatory (green house). ISCKON has commenced construction of their temple at the start of the Central Park. It is believed this will be the biggest ISCKON temple in India. Sector 12 also has a huge park called "Krantiveer Phadke Garden" catering to residents in Sector 12, 20 and 21. Currently Kharghar has three multiplex movie theaters first one is located at Tiara Mall & the second in Little World Mall has Adlabs and the third one is Inox at Glowmax Mall. There are retail brands like DMart in Sector-15,Easy day in Glomax Mall.Some of the upcoming malls are Adhiraj Mall in Sector-5, Prime Mall in Sector-12 and Shah Mall in Sector-20. Shah Mall and Prime Mall will also have multiplexes. There are adequate utility shops, departmental stores and super markets in every sector. Siemens India Ltd. has an office in Kharghar and the 10-storey building is a landmark near Kharghar railway station. Marathon Realty Group have recently announced the development of Mini-SEZ of Panvel very close to the proposed Navi Mumbai International Airport. This mini-SEZ "NexZone" is specially for the IT/ITES industry and will have an integrated township of residential and commercial buildings, education institutions and entertainment malls. NexZone is also close to the Mumbai-Goa highway. Pedestrian Skywalk at Kharghar CIDCO is considering the increase in the commuter traffic and for the safety of commuters approaching Kharghar railway station. It is decided to construct skywalk to facilitate hindrance free movement between Kharghar railway station & city node. This skywalk is crossing the national highway with cable suspension bridge resting on 41 m tall pylon. Total length of skywalk is 1780 m which makes it India's longest skywalk ever built. The Skywalk has open type escalator in the entrance foyer portion of Kharghar railway station with ramp for alighting. There after the skywalk runs parallel to highway between Bharati Vidyapeeth up to entrance of Pravesh Marg & then along Pravesh Marg up to Utsav Chowk. Transportation Kharghar is located on the outskirts of Mumbai. It lies in what is commonly regarded as the Konkan part of Maharashtra and fall in Raigad district. Kharghar railway station lies on the harbour line, a part of Mumbai suburban railway. It takes about 65 minutes to reach Kharghar by suburban train from Chatrapati Shivaji Terminus (CST). A drive by road from CST takes about 90 minutes. The six lane Mumbai-Pune Expressway starts at Kalamboli. The place is easily approachable from Pune and the other major city of the state. Within the suburb, NMMT buses are available frequently between stations, nodes and within sectors. Private cars and two wheelers continue to serve as the prime means of transport. Private taxi offers services from Kharghar to other parts of Navi Mumbai and Mumbai. However, the auto service is worst in this part of the satellite city. Local public transportation within the node is difficult as the auto rickshaws controlled by the native villagers of the area charge exorbitant fares. NMMT buses are available from Kharghar to Vashi, Thane, Dombivli, Panvel, Khopoli, Uran & Taloja. NMMT runs their AC Volvo buses from Kharghar to Dadar & Borivali. BEST buses are available from Kharghar to Vashi, Chembur, Sion, Dadar & Ghatkopar. Because of wide roads, sparse population and virtually non existent traffic police, several vehicles ply on the wrong side of the road and blatantly break traffic rules. The skywalk is around 1.7 km in length. It will help reduce the number of accidents caused when pedestrians cross the highway. Several accidents have taken place on the highway. They are appealing to people to use the subway to reach railway station. If the skywalk is opened most of them will use it and it will deter highway crossing, said a constable attached to Kharghar traffic police outpost. Navi Mumbai International Airport The Navi Mumbai airport was conceived because the Mumbai international airport. The proposed new Navi Mumbai International Airport was initially expected to be operational by 2014 in the Kopra area between Khandeshwar and Kamothe. This was passed by CIDCO on August 1, 2009. Despite getting environmental clearance from the Centre almost three years ago, the project was stuck due to protracted negotiations with farmers who wanted a compensation package of Rs 20 crore per hectare or 35 per cent of the land bank as a developed plot. The project, which will come up on 1,160 hectares of land, will be built in four phases. The first phase with an annual capacity of 10 million passengers will be completed by 2018. After the completion of the whole project, it will cater to about 60 million passengers a year.[1] The affected villagers will mostly be rehabilitated in a new township called Pushpak Nagar and in Wadghar and Wahal villages around the project area. Under the project plan, the rare island village of Waghivali in Panvel creek will be converted into a mangrove lagoon and its ecology will be maintained[2] There is also a plan to build a sea link between Nhava Sheva and Sewri, thus making the new airport accessible to not only Navi Mumbai residents but also the residents of south Mumbai as well. Site for Central Park The proposed park occupies an area of 119 Ha. (approx.) spreading over into Sector 23, 24 & 25 in Kharghar. An area of 80 ha. (approx.) is earmarked for 'Central Park'. It is a relatively flat terrain that has sporadic vegetation. The site acts as a link between two natural elements: hill and water. fo